CAT/C/GTM/CO/5-6
international treaties ratified by Guatemala. In addition, the Committee recommends
that the State party should:
(a)
Redouble its efforts to ensure that serious human rights violations
committed during the internal armed conflict, particularly the massacres and acts of
torture and enforced disappearance, are investigated, and to bring to justice the
perpetrators of such acts, including persons in the chain of command;
(b)
Ensure that the individuals accused of torture or similar acts do not
benefit from a statutory time limit;
(c)
Guarantee that all bodies involved in the investigations have the human,
technical and financial resources needed to carry out their duties effectively;
(d)
Ensure that all State agencies cooperate fully and promptly with the
investigations;
(e)
Prevent State officials from doing anything or making any public
statement that might adversely affect the independence of the judiciary;
(f)
Guarantee the safety of the victims, witnesses and all those involved in
the criminal proceedings and, to this end, provide the bodies responsible for their
protection with the human and financial resources they need to function effectively.
Enforced disappearances during the internal armed conflict
11.
The Committee notes with concern that, despite the years that have passed since the
end of the internal armed conflict, the fate and whereabouts of over 40,000 alleged victims
of enforced disappearance during this period are still unknown and, in this respect, regrets
that no independent commission has yet been established to locate them. The Committee
takes note of the information supplied by the delegation to the effect that the proposals
submitted to Congress for this purpose have no chance of being adopted and that a new text
is being negotiated (arts. 2, 12, 14 and 16).
The Committee recommends that the State party establish an independent
commission to search for the victims of enforced disappearance during the internal
armed conflict, which should meet international human rights standards and have the
authority and resources it needs to perform its duties effectively. It also recommends
that the State party set up a national register of disappeared persons to facilitate the
search and ensure that all persons involved in the process receive due support.
National Reparations Programme
12.
The Committee, while acknowledging the establishment and work of the National
Reparations Programme, notes the reports indicating that, under the programme, financial
compensation has apparently been given priority over other forms of redress. The
Committee also notes that the programme is due to run until the second half of 2013 and
takes note of the proposals to extend it (art. 14).
The State party should redouble its efforts to guarantee that all victims of human
rights violations committed during the internal armed conflict receive appropriate
redress that includes the means for their physical and psychological rehabilitation and
that is culturally and gender sensitive. Accordingly, the State party should ensure that
the National Reparations Programme is continued until all victims have received
appropriate redress; ensure that legislative or other measures adopted meet
international standards for reparation, including article 14 of the Convention; and
provide the programme with sufficient resources to ensure that all forms of
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